Sunbed use not a definite cause of malignant melanoma

There have been an observed increase in skin cancer rates recently and time and again a question has been raised whether artificial UV radiation causes malignant melanoma in humans.An international team of researchers have conducted a study and found no definitive causal link between sunbed use and malignant melanoma.The researchers Reichrath et al. refute arguments recently presented in a number of publications through this finding. The results of the studies have been published in two articles in the scientific journal Anticancer Research.

An international team of researchers, coordinated by the Homburg dermatologist Jörg Reichrath, has conducted a thorough search of the scientific databases MEDLINE and ISI Web of Science for relevant studies and subjected the results to a systematic meta-analysis (1). Although the team found an association of a slightly increased melanoma risk when comparing 'ever' versus 'never' sunbed users, they identified significant shortcomings in the scientific studies they included in their meta-analysis. Many of the earlier published results were based on observational studies with poor quality data that fail to support causation. 'When you assess subgroups of study participants, it becomes apparent that other factors may well be playing a role,' explains Professor Reichrath. 'For example, solarium use could well be a marker for "sun worshippers" who, by exposing themselves to excessive levels of natural solar radiation when sunbathing, tend to get sunburnt more often and therefore have a higher melanoma risk.'